Baked Macaroni Recipe

Baked Macaroni is a pasta dish that makes use of elbow macaroni as the primary ingredient. At first look, this could be mistaken as the famous Macaroni and Cheese but there is more to this dish than just having pasta and cheese.

Meat is one of its most important components. Ground beef is usually used but others prefer ground pork, ground chicken, and even minced ham. Being a tomato based pasta, Baked Macaroni uses diced tomatoes (or tomato sauce) and tomato paste as well. Capsicum (or bell pepper) and paprika are optionally added to add more flavor and aroma.

The description above makes a regular Baked Macaroni but adding the Mornay sauce (or white sauce as we usually call it) makes it more special. This is a cheese and milk sauce made by combining a roux with milk and adding parmesan and gruyere cheese (or sharp cheddar if gruyere is not available). Then you’ll have rich and creamy pasta ready for baking.

Try this Baked Macaroni recipe.

Baked Macaroni Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb uncooked elbow macaroni

Meat Sauce:

3 tbsp butter

1 lb ground beef

1 ½ cup diced tomatoes (canned)

1 small onions, diced

1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup tomato paste

1 tsp paprika

1 piece beef cube

1 cup water

1 tbsp sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Mornay Sauce:

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 cups fresh milk

1/4 tsp salt

1 ounce grated parmesan cheese

2 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese

Watch the cooking video:

Cooking Procedure

Prepare the elbow macaroni according to instructions in the package and intentionally cut the cooking time so that the macaroni is not well done (the macaroni will be fully cooked once baked) then drain and set aside.

Prepare the meat sauce by heating a cooking pot and melt-in the butter.

When the butter is hot enough, add the ground beef and cook for 5 minutes or until the color turns medium brown.

Add the onion, green bell pepper, and diced tomatoes then stir and simmer for 3 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

Add the tomato paste and paprika then stir and cook for a minute

Add the beef cube and water then stir until everything is well distributed. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Put-in the sugar, salt, and pepper then mix well. Turn of the heat and set aside.

Prepare the Mornay sauce by melting the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.

Add the flour stir constantly for about a minute (color must be yellowish and not brown).

Slowly whisk in the milk and continue to whisk until the sauce thickens and comes to a boil.

Add salt and pepper then simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in the cheeses and whisk until melted. Set aside

Combine the cooked macaroni and meat sauce in a baking dish then toss until the meat sauce is well distributed.

Arrange the macaroni and pour the Mornay sauce over it. (Spread the Mornay sauce over the macaroni and meat sauce mixture ensuring that every space is covered)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Thanks so much, I used 1 cup = 8 ounces conversion, so when I tasted my sauce I was almost sure that it did not turn out was as cheesy as I know it should be! Thanks a lot! I always use your recipes and they always taste good!

What size or dimensions was your baking dish? In your video you mentioned that this recipe is good for 2 baking dishes. I have various sizes of baking dishes with different depths as well. Can you please let me know?

Made this today! Best baked mac ever! Minodify ko lang po nang kaunti yung recipe to suit what we have on hand: bottled pasta sauce instead of tomatoes, 1/2 lb ground pork instead of 1 lb ground beef, no paprika and beef cube, quickmelt cheese and a dash of ground nutmeg for the mornay sauce (omitted the parmesan). Still turned out great! This is a keeper for us. Salamat po sa recipe.

I have all the ingredients here for baked Mac except canned tomatoes sad to say its not available
Here in our place..can I use tomatoe sauce instead? I’ll be cooking it for our Noche buena tonite so it’s like I need to know your answer chef..Merry Christmas! And by the way, is full cream milk ok? Thanks agen..

Jenny, can you check if your oven is in Fahrenheit. Your oven must be in Celsius; if this is the case then you need to convert 350F to C and that will be your oven temp (around 177C if that is the case).

I’m an avid lurker of your site and I’ve tried a lot of your recipes which were all amazing. Now, my question is if I use chicken rather than beef, are there any difference in the ingredients or the amount you put in?

hi vanjo greetings!!! you know everytime I feel bored I just open my computer and I always look on your site especially on your menu and I find it all very interesting…although there are lots of procedures beside you on “youtube” but I only find yours more easy and simple to cope with… I’ll try this recipe on my bday on feb.2…ummm Im excited to make this one… “baked macaroni” one of my favorite!!! more power to you vanjo

On a Friday night, my daughter and I thought of something yummy to eat and well baked macaroni came first so we started google searching and studied your recipe. Three hours passed and we are full, gastronomic cravings sated, was uber delicioso and perfected it for a beginner like me. Thank you so much and keep it up.

hi ian! was wondering kung naging ‘matagumpay’ ung quick melt cheese instead of the parmesan. thanks! will cook this tom and don’t think we have parmesan cheese avail nearby. hope to hear from you very soon. thanks!

hi all, i followed this recipe and turned out great! I don’t even have an oven so i baked it in microwave oven for 8mins max temp(not sure if this is right) but turned out great! Many said it would not ‘bake’ it using microwave but it did. I just made sure macaroni was fully cooked and mornay sauce was thick enough. Im very satisified by the outcome coz i wasn’t hoping a good outcome coz i googled and many said microwave won’t bake it. Also, i wasn’t able to find sharp cheddar(i didn,t know what it is until i googled but even if i do, store i went to doesn’t have it so I used kraft cheddar cheese & parmesan). Love it! Thanks!!

Thanks a lot for this very wonderful site. I have always been a careerwoman all my life and never had the guts to stay in the kitchen. However, when my family moved out of the Philippines recently, I had no choice but to start learning how to cook otherwise we would all end up eating fast foods – which is not healthy at all. And yes, this site has been my tutor. I have tried a lot of recipes that my kids enjoyed and this one will be my menu for tomorrow. I hope they will also like this the same way they liked the others. And who would have guessed I don’t have skills in the kitchen? Again, thanks a lot and keep it up!

Thank you very much for sharing all these wonderful recipes. It’s really very generous of you. It made cooking for my family a joy instead of a task that I need to do everyday. It’s probably one of the best (if not the best) website I have ever found. Way to go! More power to you! God bless…

hi! this site is really very helpful to me..i’ve been here in Oman for quite some time now. And to my disappointment, gravy here is like a never-heard sauce. Even the KFC here doesn’t have a gravy! argggghhhh! They use tomato ketchup instead…I’ve been been browsing ur site several times already, and last night I found ur KFC-style gravy (and burger steak). I gave it a try, and really, it was great to the nth times! =) I’ve got lots of compliment from my hubby! yey!, hehehe..

This morning, i tried this baked macaroni for our 14th monthsary =). Actually, this is my first time to bake. It’s so yummy. The murnay sauce is really perfect and gives its extra special taste. My hubby is really craving for more, and he requested me to pack this as his baon to work and for his co-profs to taste!

I will try next time your cassava cake. Im sure it will also be a big hit as it is also one our favorites. Ayy, I’m so excited to tell u about all these stuffs, but really all I want to say is my heartfelt thanks to you..=)

Hi! Can I use a turbo broiler instead of an oven? if yes, ilang minutes and would the procedure be different. for e.g. half-baked yung noodles + meatsauce b4 I put the mornay sauce and continue to cook it until golden brown? thank you.

By the way, I found your video on YouTube when I was searching for Filipino baked macaroni to serve for my dinner party. I didn’t have all the ingredients (no paprika, no bell pepper, not enough parmesan). I didn’t have the exact measurements (couldn’t view your site through my phone) so I just did it eye balled everything and hoped for the best. Hahaha.

I was short on sauce so I added a little bit of pre-made filipino spaghetti sauce and I was also worried about the mornay sauce at first since I didn’t have the exact measurement but everything came out GREAT!

My friends LOVED it so thank you again for posting your recipes online.

Thank you so much for sharing all these wonderful recipes! I can’t wait to try them all. You inspire home cooks like me to keep cooking and serving good food to my friends and family. Keep up the good work

I tried to make your baked macaroni recipe,,it was perfect!! my kids and my husband love it so much..almost everyday I’m trying to cook all your recipes. my daughter said your a good chef mum,,you always tried to cook new food for us,,thank’s to you MR. Panlasang Pinoy..

hi…was looking for a baked macaroni recipe for our father’s day celebration potluck with friends…saw this one this recipe came close to what I have been expecting a baked mac should be so I will try this one tomorrow! Will tell you how it went.

tried this recipe last tuesday april 27,2010 for my mom in law’s bday we all loved it, it was way so much better than my old one. thank you so much for sharing it.. looking forward for more recipes from you. God bless to you and your family!

hi i just want to ask if i can substitute the cheddar and parmesan cheese with mozarella cheese and the regular kraft eden cheese (i don’t know what kind of cheese is that)? how bout the fresh milk, can i use the carnation evaporated milk?

You may do those JP though there might be some difference in the taste since parmesan has a unique taste compared to mozarella (mild) and our local cheese.As for the milk, I see no problem using any brand of evaporated milk.

Hi. Im planning to have this for new year.So thanksss! I dont really know how to cook but these videos are totally of great help. Sometimes though, Im having a hard time looking for the ingredients(is that how it’s called? lol) here in our area ( somewhere north of luzon)… BUt then thanks… This is my third dish and I know there will be more!!! So thanks man…you just awaken the “cook in me” lol!

hi, this recipe makes how many servings? good for four? 6?
i would suggest you include number of servings on every recipe here, thank you very much.. your site is really cool.. malaki ang naitulong sa akin..!!

hi there! i just want to let you know that i made this for the first time last sat and it was such a hit esp with my son! now i’m planning to make this again for this weekend’s church xmas party for the kids. my ku mare also loved it, i gave her some for her lunch today! thanks for the easy to follow recipe, and keep ’em coming!

Hi kuya thank you for posting all the Ingredients; I was browsing you tube, and saw you’re post, I love baked Mac! and I’m going to make this on thanksgiving & that would be tomorrow…yahoooo! more power to you

Hello! i would like to make this macaroni- but i have a question. how many cups is an ounce (for the parmesan cheese) and 2 ounce for (cheddar cheese)? and just to clarify the parmesan cheese is grated- like the one in the bottle, and the cheddar cheese is shredded- right? thank you! your site rocks!